Saturday, March 16, 2013

The New Barrage Of Android Devices

 

 

I have to admit to being a bit addicted to tech blogs. I love them, BGR, Engadget, TechCrunch... They are all on my Twitter Feed and I love to scope them out when I have time. What's funny is the attention that HTC and Samsung have both gotten for their new devices. What these new 'superphones' have in common are some, for lack of a better term, CRAZY-ASS specs. Coming out with Ultrapixels, Octo-core Processors and 2GB of RAM, these things are more powerful than the Toshiba Thrive Tablet that I am writing this blog from right now. It's scary to think that a device needs to have this much power to run.  Lets take a quick look at the two newbies on the block and see what my little Nokia Lumia 810 and HTC Titan have to offer in comparison.
At first look, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 is not much more than a basic update to the Galaxy S 3. Still a cream of the crop device, the S4 adds that Octo-core processor, an extra GB of RAM and that 13MP rear shooter. I'm sure that it will come in those tasty 32 and 64GB models and have plenty of fun customized apps and abilities, but honestly, it's not that impressive and only keeps the Galaxy line going, not growing. While the camera is impressive and the software tweaks are nice, the bottom line is that the Galaxy S4 is still a clunky TouchWiz driven device with a big screen and performance that should keep Android users happy until the next update gets delayed.
On the flipside to the S4 is the HTC One. The one is a true work of art in design and software. With innovative features like HTC Zoe, BoomSound and the Ultrapixel, the One is a serious piece of hardware. HTC has been brilliant in rolling off the Megapixel measurement and moving towards a better sensor. Instead of continuing to climb the Megapixel ladder like many, HTC has taken a page from Nokia's PureView idea of smaller and cleaner images by using lower Megapixels and better software to process the image. The Ultrapixel, which I am guessing will eventually become the new standard in imaging, is a simple concept. We will use the 16MP camera found on the Titan 2 for this simple exercise as it makes it easy to divide. Basically, you have a fixed amount of space for those pixels on that small sensor. Each pixel captures light, which the software turns into colors. By placing so many pixels on a small sensor, the pixels aren't able to absorb as much information. By increasing the physical size of the pixel, the pixel has more square footage to record more information. What this means to the end user is a fantastic camera experience that will record more information in a photo that will print beautifully at 8x10 and under.
Comparing these two monsters, it's safe to say that the HTC One is the only contender to replace a Windows Phone in my pocket. As much as I love my Lumia 810, the camera often leaves me feeling a bit bummed. The Titan features what I still consider the top camera I have ever used on a smartphone. The 8MP shooter is flat out perfect for me and the customisable settings of Windows Phone allow me to create amazing photos with that stock camera. Unfortunately, the Titan is stuck in the past on an ancient version of Windows Phone 7.5 and won't ever see the magic of Windows Phone 8. Of course, in my perfect world, the Titan III will come along in the body of the HTC One and I will become the happiest man on the planet, for at least a week... Until then, I'll continue carrying my Lumia 810 and enjoying the most trouble free platform available today.

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